Lid hinge and counterbalance



Jan. 26, 1960 J. P. BOGATER LID HINGE AND COUNTERBALANCE 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 19, 1956 Inventor fiflggm/az Attorney Jan. 26, 1960 J. P. BOG/ ag 2,922,184.

LID HINGE AND COUNTERBALANCE Filed June 19, 1956 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor Y 26, 1.960 v I *J. P. BOGATER v LID HINGE-AND "COUNTERBALANCE Filed June 19, 1956 I Inventor Jan. 26, 1960 J.- P. BOGATER LID HINGE AND COUNTERBALANCE 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June 19, 1956 Inventor dzz fifigya/fi Attorney Jan. 26, 1960 J. P. BQGATER LID HINGE AND COUNTERBALANCE 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 19, 1956 By I Attorney Jan. 26, 1960 .1. P. BOGATER LID HINGE AND COUNTERBALANCE Filed June 19, 1956 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 Jan. 26, 1960 .1. P. BOGATER LID HINGE AND COUNTERBALANCE 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed June 19. 1956 2,922,184 Patented Jan. 26, 1960 LID HINGE AND COUNTERBALANCE Application June 19, 1956, Serial No. 592,459

'5 Claims. (Cl. 16-128.1)

This invention relates to a hinge and counterbalance device, and more particularly to a deck lid hinge and counterbalance for an automobile.

*One feature of the invention is that it provides an improved hinge and'counterbalance; another feature of the invention is that it provides a novel hinge and counterbalance particularly adapted for use with an automobile deck lid; still another feature of the invention is that the deck lid is urged toward open position by a toggle linkage connected to a tension spring which biases the toggle linkage toward extended position so that the moment leverage increases as the deck lid opens to provide a yieldable hold-open when the deck lid is in its open position; still another feature of the invention is that in one form the leverage is such as to multiply the effective force of the spring; and yet a further feature of the invention is that the tension spring may be mounted outside the walls of the hinge box with the result that the hinge box can be made relatively small.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and from the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary section through a portion of the rear quarter and deck lid of an automobile showing one form of the invention, the deck lid being closed and part of the hinge box being broken away to show underlying structure;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but with the deck lid open;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a view, partly in section, taken along the line 44 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a section similar to Fig. l but showing a modified form of the invention;

Fig. 6 is a section through the apparatus of Fig. 5 taken along the line 66 thereof;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 5 but showing the deck lid open;

Fig. 8'is a section showinga third form of the invention, the deck lid being closed;

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 8 but with the deck lid open; and

Fig. 10 is a view taken along the line 1010 of Fig. 9.

Automobile deck lids conventionally are provided with a counterbalance device to assist in opening the rather heavy lid and generally these counterbalance devices are incorporated into the hinge for the deck lid rather than being formed as structures separate and disconnected from the hinge. This invention provides improved counterbalance devices of this type for an automobile deck lid utilizing a toggle linkage operative directly upon the swinging hinge strap and having a helical tension spring connected to the toggle linkage. The spring is loaded as the deck lid is closed, but as the deck lid is closed, the toggle linkage is folded, thus rendering the spring force least effective to lift the lid even though the spring is most fully compressed when the, lid-is closed. Because of the toggle linkage arrangement, the moment leverage increases and the spring is most effective to support the lid when the lid is open so that the spring and toggle linkage arrangement provide a hold-open foryieldably maintaining the lid in its open position.

Referring to the drawings and more particularly to Figs. 1-4, 10 is the rear quarter shelf of an automobile which extends across the back of the automobile body adjacent the lower edge of the rear window 12. A sealing weather strip 14 is secured to the window and to the shelf 10 and an ornamental trim strip 16 is mounted on this weather strip and extends around the periphery of the window. Inside the automobile body, partition 18 projects forwardly and downwardly from its point of attachment with the weather strip 14 and the shelf 10 to define the top and forward wall of the rear deck compartment and to separate the rear deck compartment from the passenger compartment. Beneath the shelf 10 and the partition 18 and secured thereto by bolts or any other conventional means is a generally U-shaped hinge box 20 between the walls 20a and 20b of which a gooseneck hinge strap 22 is pivotally mounted on a pin 24 so that the strap comprises one hinge member and the hinge box comprises the other hinge member. It will be understood that there is one of these hinge arrangements at each side of the rear deck compartment although only one is shown in the drawings since the two are identical in construction. The reference character 26 designates the outer panel of the deck lid, said lid having an inner panel 28 which is secured by bolts 30 to the hinge strap 22. The shelf 10 is formed with a peripheral trough in which a sealing weather strip 32 seals against the inner panel 28 of the deck lid to keep dirt and moisture out of the rear compartment.

A toggle comprises a first pair of links 36 and a second pair of links 38. One end of each of the links 36 is pivotally connected by a pin 40 to the hinge strap 22 and one end of each of the links 38 is pivotally connected by a pin 42 to the hinge box. The links are connected together at 44 and are swingable from the closed position of Fig. 1 to the open position of Fig. 2 in which an extending hook 46 on link 38 abuts a bent tab 48 on link 36 to form a stop to limit opening movement of the deck lid and to prevent the toggle from throwing overcenter. Intermediate the pivotal mounting points 42, 44, links 38 are pivotally connected at 50 to a channel-shaped transmitting link 52 which is articulated at its other end at 54 as an intermediate point on a pair of levers 56. Each of these levers is pivotally connected at their lower end at 58 to the hinge box. The upper ends of the levers are connected together by a pin 60 which extends through an arcuate slot 62 in one hinge box wall. A helical tension spring 64, which is outside the hinge box walls, has one end secured to the pin 60 and the other end anchored in a bracket 66 welded to the hinge box wall.

\Vhen the deck lid is closed the toggle is folded as shown in Fig. 1. In this position links 3 8 have caused transmitting link 52 to shift to the left, swinging the levers 56 in a counterclockwise direction so that the pin 69 which holds the end of the spring rests in the left or forward end of the slot 62. As the deck lid is swung toward the fully open position of Fig. 2, the toggle links 36, 38 are extended. Links 38 pull transmitting link 52 to the right so that levers56 swing clockwise, moving the pin 60 to the right or rearwardly in slot 62. Despite the fact that the spring is more fully loaded when the deck lid is closed than it is when the deck lid is open, the moment arm of the lever formed by links 38 to which spring 64 is connected is such that the eitective spring force against the toggle and deck lid increases as the deck lid opens. This may be seen by comparing Figs. 1 and 2. In Fig. 1 the mechanical advantage is small because the spring pulls generally towards the pivot 42. In Fig. 2 the mechanical advantage is great because the spring pulls generally tangent to the pivot 42. When the deck lid reaches the fully open position of Fig. 2, the effective force preferably is great enough to act as a hold-open and overcome the force of gravity of the deck lid and hinge strap. As the deck lid is closed, the spring is loaded in preparation for the next cycle.

The leverage system, including the transmitting link 52, the parallel links 56 and the connections with the spring, provides a multiplication of spring force which, in the apparatus as illustrated, is of the order of 2 to 1.

Figs. 5, 6 and 7 show a modification of the invention in which the spring acts directly on the toggle linkage and there is no force multiplication. Referring to these figures, a first toggle link 80 is pivoted at 82 on the hinge strap 22. As shown in Fig. 6, this toggle link is channel-shaped, one arm of the channel being longer than the other arm and forming a stop abutment 84. A second toggle link 86 is articulated at 88 to the long arm of the toggle link 80 and is pivoted by a pin 90 on the wall of the hinge box, the link being rigidly mounted on pivot pin 90. This toggle link has a complementary stop abutment portion 92 adapted to abut the stop portion 84 of the link 80, as shown in Fig. 7, to limit opening movement of the deck lid. The pin 90 projects through the wall of the hinge box and outside the hinge box wall a bracket 94 is rigidly mounted on the pin so that the bracket 94 and the toggle link 86 are locked together. Bracket 94 has a turned flange 96 which anchors one end of a helical tension spring 98. The other end of the spring is anchored in a bracket 100 which is welded to the Wall of the hinge box.

When the deck lid is closed, the toggle linkage is folded as shown in Fig. 5. The angular relationship between the bracket 94 and the toggle link 86 is such that in this closed position the mechanical advantage is relatively slight despite the fact that the spring is fully loaded. When the deck lid swings from the closed position of Fig. toward the open position of Fig. 7, the toggle linkage and bracket 94 swing in a manner to increase the mechanical advantage so that the counterbalance force of the spring exerted on the deck lid increases and is sufficient to overcome the gravity of the deck lid when the lid is fully open as in Fig. 7. As the lid swings closed, the spring is reloaded in preparation for the next cycle. The provision of the bracket 94 which is separate from but locked with the toggle link 86 allows the spring 98 to be mounted outside the hinge box walls, thus reducing the amount of metal required in the hinge box. If desired, the construction may be such that the bracket 94 is not permanently locked to the link 86. For example, the bracket 94 may be freely rotatable on the pin 90 and may be releasably locked to the link 86 by a removable pin so that the angular relationship between the bracket 94 and the link 86 may be adjusted in a selected one of a plurality of positions.

Figs. 8, 9 and show a third form of the invention in which the spring is connected directly. to the toggle linkage. Referring to these figures, a pair of first toggle links 110 are pivotally connected at 112 to the hinge strap 22. A Second toggle link 114 is pivoted intermediate its ends at 116 to the hinge box walls and is articulated at one end by a pin 118 to the first links 110. The link 114 is in the form of a Y comprising two stampings 114a and 11412 which are riveted together at one end as shown at 120 and which diverge to form bifurcated arms for connection to the link 110. The riveted end of the stampings has a notch 122 into which is hooked one end of a helical tension spring 124. The other end of the spring is anchored on a bracket 126 which is Welded to the wall of the hinge box. Link 110 has a blocking hook 128 at its free end which abuts a punched tab 130 on link 114 when the deck lid is in its fully open position as shown in Fig. 9 to form a limit stop.

The operation of this form of the invention is similar to the forms earlier described. When the deck lid is closed, as shown in Fig. 8, the toggle is folded and the spring is loaded. But the linkage arrangement is such that the mechanical advantage is slight when the parts are in this position. As the deck lid is moved from the closed position of Fig. 8 toward the open position of Fig. 9, the toggle linkage unfolds swinging the link 114 in a clockwise direction so that the moment leverage increases as the deck lid opens. When the deck lid is in its fully open position, the leverage is sufiicient to overcome gravity and provide a yieldable hold-open.

While I have shown and described certain embodiments of my invention, it is capable of many modifications. Change-s, therefore, in the construction and arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A hinge and counterbalance for body and lid members, comprising in combination, a first hinge part connected to the lid member; a second hinge part connected to the body member; means pivotally connecting said hinge parts together to permit swinging said lid member between open and closed positions; a toggle linkage including first and second links and pivot means connecting the links; means pivotally connecting said first link to said first hinge part at a point between the connection of the first hinge part to the lid member and the means pivotally connecting said hinge parts together;

means pivotally connecting said second link to said second hinge part; a spring; means for anchoring one end of said spring on the body member; a lever pivotally connected to said second hinge part and connected to the other end of said spring; and a transmitting link connected between said lever and one of said toggle links.

2. A hinge and counterbalance for body and lid members, comprising in combination, a hinge strap connected to the lid member; a hinge box mounted on the body member; means pivotally connecting said hinge strap to said hinge box to permit said lid member to swing between open and closed positions; a toggle linkage including first and second links and pivot means connecting the links; means pivotally connecting said first link to said hinge strap at a point between the connection of said strap to the lid member and the means pivotally connecting the strap to said hinge box; means pivotally connecting said second link to said'hinge box; a spring; means anchoring one end of said spring on the hinge box; a lever pivotally mounted on the hinge box and connected to the other end of said spring; and a transmitting link connected between said lever and said first toggle link.

3. Apparatus of the character claimed in claim 2, wherein said hinge box has a wall formed with a slot, said lever having a portion extending through the slot and the spring being mounted outside said wall.

4. A hinge and counterbalance for body and lid members, comprising in combination, a first hinge part connected to the lid member; a second hinge part connected to the body member; means pivotally connecting said hinge parts together to permit swinging said lid member between open and closed positions; a toggle linkage including first and second links and pivot means connecting the links; means pivotally connecting said first link to said first hinge part at a point between the connection of the first hinge part to the lid member and the means pivotally connecting said hinge parts together; means pivotally connecting said second link to said second hinge part; a spring; means for anchoring one end of said spring on the body member adjacent said toggle links; a lever having one end connected to said second hinge part and the other end connected to the other end of said spring; and a transmitting link connected between said lever and one of said toggle links, the connection between said transmitting link and lever being intermediate the ends of the lever.

5. Apparatus of the character claimed in claim 4 wherein the connection between the transmitting link and the lever is substantially at the midpoint of said lever 5 between the ends thereof, and wherein the connection between the transmitting link and said toggle link is intermediate the ends of said toggle link.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Roethel June 1, Galla July 21, Thomas et a1. Mar. 8, Johnson et al. Sept. 4, 

